'The Void Which Binds', they stopped this plan. Instead, the Earth was moved to another Galaxy by the lifeforms residing in the Void. The TechnoCore's terror at seeing this power led them to give the Farcasters to humanity. As always, the TechnoCore had an ulterior motive. When an individual walked through a Farcaster portal, they passed through 'The Void Which Binds' , a timeless place where the TechnoCore could 'plug in' the person's brain into their vast neural net, focused on the problem of creating their UI (Ultimate Intelligence) — a being capable of dealing with the so-called 'Lions and Tigers and Bears' that resided within the Void. When Meina Gladstone ordered the destruction of the Farcaster network, the TechnoCore's insidious plans were only halted temporarily. They struck an alliance with the Roman Catholic Church, giving their cruciform symbiotes to the body that would become the Pax and offering immortality to anyone who accepted the Pax. Aenea carried a virus in her body, which when she infected someone, would destroy the cruciform (which was revealed by Aenea to be another misuse of the Void Which Binds). Notable Farcasters The Grand Concourse The Grand Concourse was a series of shopping streets on many worlds connected by Farcaster into the appearance of a single street. The River Tethys The River Tethys was gifted to the Hegemony of Man by the TechnoCore. Every planet in the WorldWeb (and some who weren't, as was discovered by Aenea) had a section of a river connected by Farcaster to rivers on other worlds. The Tethys was used for sightseeing and tourism mainly with some trade. Martin Silenus' House Martin Silenus' House was a house that physically resided on multiple worlds of the WorldWeb, much as the houses of many famous or rich personalities of the Hegemony of Man used to do. It was a huge expense and illustrated his rise to fame and fortune and, eventually his fall back to obscurity. The notable features included windows to most of the best views of the web and a bathroom that consisted of an open raft in the middle of a waterworld. Freecasting Aenea's teachings about the Void Which Binds included four steps: Learning the Language of the Dead Learning the Language of the Living Listening to the Music of the Spheres Taking the First Step Aenea's teachings related to the Void which binds: She taught that human